In the wake of ABC’s decision to indefinitely suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show, interesting comments he made just weeks ago have resurfaced.
In July, Variety published a quote from Kimmel in relation to the First Amendment and how television was being impacted in the current political climate. The media outlet asked Kimmel if he was concerned that he might be targeted by the administration. The question came shortly after both Disney and Paramount Global settled lawsuits with President Donald J. Trump.
Kimmel told Variety, “Well, you’d have to be naive not to worry a little bit. But that can’t change what you’re doing.”
He continued, “And maybe it is naive, but I have the hope that if and when the day comes that he does start coming after comedians, that even my colleagues on the right will support my right to say what I like.”
“Now, I could be kidding myself, and hopefully we’ll never find out. But if we do, I would hope that the outrage is significant.”
Jimmy Kimmel, Variety
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Kimmel’s suspension has prompted a great deal of outrage, both from entertainers and fans. However, as Variety and The Hollywood Reporter noted, support from Kimmel’s colleagues who hold different viewpoints appears to be subdued.
Megyn Kelly took to X, formerly Twitter, to post a lengthy response regarding the Kimmel news. She ended her post by writing, “In short, GOOD RIDDANCE.”
Podcaster Mark Levintweeted, “Kimmel canned for disgusting Kirk comments. Jimmy Kimmel is a pathetic hate monger. He should’ve been canned a long time ago. Better late than never.”
Author and podcaster Ben Shapiro appeared on Fox News and said, “I’m sort of surprised it took 10 years for the public to sound off on how much JImmy Kimmel s___s.”
The Hollywood Reporter and Variety shared that social media posts or comments of a similar nature emerged from others such as Matt Walsh, Terrence K. Williams, YouTuber Jeremy Hambly, Benny Johnson, and Steven Crowder.
Jessica Tarlov, co-host of The Five, tweeted, “Free speech advocates on the right have a lot of heavy lifting to do.”
She also subsequently tweeted several other posts related to Kimmel. Her response to one regarding demands from Sinclair that Kimmel donate to Charlie Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA, read, “Sounds a lot like extortion to me.”
Tarlov’s Fox colleague Greg Gutfeld responded to her initial Kimmel-related tweet. He wrote, “Pretty easy lift. You have a right to be wrong. The company you work for has a right to pull you for it. The heavy lifting is on your end or you would have made your case.”
She directly replied, “His employer didn’t make this decision without government pressure. That’s the problem!”
So far, Kimmel has not made any public statements regarding his show suspension.
This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 18, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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